633. Incidence, Microbial Etiology and Antibiotic Resistance Patterns with Special Reference to Shunt Infections in Neurosurgery at a Tertiary Center in North India

BACKGROUND: Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt is one of the commonest procedures in neurosurgical practice. A significant problem encountered in shunt procedures is infection, with infection rate ranging from 2 to 27%, often with poor outcome. The objectives of the study were to retrospectively evaluate the infection rate associated with central nervous system (CNS) shunts, assess the frequency of the pathogens as well as their antibiotic sensitivity pattern to aim at suitable prophylaxis. METHODS: Materials and Methods. Retrospective study conducted in the Microbiology Department, SGPGI, Lucknow from December 2017 to August 2018. A total of 168 CSF samples were received with a suspected shunt infection. Samples were analyzed by wet mount, India ink, gram stain and inoculated on blood agar and MacConkey agar. Identification and AST were done by MALDI- TOF system (VITEK-MS) and Vitek 2.0 automated sensitivity system. RESULTS: During the study period, 37/168(22.02%) CSF were positive by culture. Most frequently isolated pathogen was Acinetobacter baumannii 20/37(54.05%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus 06/37 (16.20%), Enterococcus faecalis 04/37(10.81%) coagulase negative staphylococci- CONS 04/37(10.81%), Klebsiella pneumoniae 2/37 (5.40%)and Escherichia coli 1/37(2.70%). 100% of A. baumannii and E. coli strains were found to be XDR and carbapenem-resistant showing susceptibility to minocycline and colistin only. All strains of K.pneumoniae were MDR. 66.7% S.aureus were MRSA and showed 100% resistance to fluoroquinolone. A similar pattern was seen in CONS. 25% of Enterococci were found to be vancomycin resistant. CONCLUSION: Discussion and Conclusion. The antibiotic sensitivity pattern suggests aminoglycosides, colistin and vancomycin to be a better choice of antibiotics either prophylactically/therapeutically, which may result in effective sterilization of the CSF. Infections following VP shunt procedure are secondary to catheter blockage complicating the results of surgery and are associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.